CruseKrazy

There is a contextual thing about this event that may have been discussed above.  Some of us who booked this cruise long ago were slated to go to Lahaina. We were really disappointed when the sail by Kauai was announced in lieu due to the tragic fire in Lahaina.  Not X’s fault for sure but we saw the substitute as just another sea day after 5 in a row.  I asked Celebrity for compensation for the lost port and they denied it.  
 

Other ships like the Solstice got another night somwhere (on the big island?) but not Edge.  Several RC ships were accomodated it seems with an extra port night too but not Edge.  Hence our disappointment was high and our expectations low about the Na Pali coast sail by.  We thought we would be 5 km out and say to each other “Which island is that again?”.

Another thing is Captain Matt’s personality - extremely confident, almost cocky. He said in the talk on board about his career how difficult it is becoming captain.  The years of study, the personality vetting, the understudy work etc..  But one thing he made very clear is if he deviates from the approved cruise plan significantly he would be relieved of his duties at the next port.  Hence I find it hard to believe he knowingly violated the cruise plan or safety regulations etc. by sailing too close to Na Pali.

So perhaps he just wanted to exceed our expectations and give us a thrill. The whole cruise from Sydney to Honolulu exceeded our expectations so why not end it with a bang!  Ironic too because X’s new slogan is “Nothing comes close” (except the Edge lol!)

Our expectations were greatly exceeded.  Sorry those currently on board suffered the consequences by staying an extra night in Honolulu which is ironically what we had hoped for before the sail by.  Expectations have been increased.

I understand the OPs angst about pricing.  It used to pay to wait until July 4 or Black Friday to book with Celebrity.  Last July 4 we got an excellent price and substantial OBC on the cruise preceeding the one the OP is venting about. By Black Friday OBCs were no longer being offered and the price had gone up.  RCCL share prices have recovered nicely in accordance with the increased pricing trend.  

It’s all inclusive vs a la carte for drinks.  We have 2 upcoming cruises, 1 of each type.  We will see what the better deal for us is.  I suspect Celebrity is making millions off these drink packages.  

Last July 4 Celebrity was giving substantial OBC.  By Black Friday there was very little.  Their share price has recovered nicely.

OBC on Celebrity dried up last fall.  The demand for cruising has gone nuts so up go the prices and down go the discounts.  Luckily we booked 2 upcoming cruises well before this and have plenty of OBC on each. In future, booking on board and RCCL stock benefit is all we will have unless demand dries up again as our TA only gives cash back discounts.

On 1/26/2024 at 3:00 PM, Tyler414 said:

To windy. 

Yes, but to be clearer, the strong cross winds meant the ship in order to keep going straight, would have to be be turned on an angle.  Hence it would coming in somewhat sideways and could very well ground out on one end in the narrow channel.

Great, many of us who are travelling already before boarding may not access to a printer.

Thanks.  I did not think it would be possible.  How much does a travel router cost?

Anyone know if you can run a wifi hotspot on a Starlink connected iPhone on board?  Tks.

Dave

Oceania for us next time.

The two cruises I am monitoring, one in 2024 and one in 2025 have now gone up a few hundred dollars each for a standard balcony net of removing the prepaid grats from the all included fare. It’s only a few percent but a fare increase nevertheless.

I think X may be trying to put pressure on TAs to throw in prepaid grats.  This is the way it worked when we booked O cruises years ago.

For the 2 future cruises I am monitoring the price for all included is the same as yesterday as well as the small obc but the prepaid gratuities are no longer included.  Will continue to look for a price drop.

Hi Ken, I miss read the date of this trip on the Celebrity board.  Our friends board the CB today in Quebec City for a b2b return back to Quebec.  We are booked on Celebrity Edge for the Apr 24 sailing to Honolulu like you the one did this past April.  Enjoy your cruise!
 

Dave

13 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

For those interested, I just started a new Live From thread on the Princess Forum which will cover our upcoming 22-day Land and Sea cruise on the Caribbean Princess from Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.

 

Will follow, our neighbours Mike and Marilyn are boarding this cruise right now.

Dave

We got an extra $450 obc which was also available on their July 4th sale this year. It’s worth waiting for.

Maybe?

RCCL share price has doubled in the past year.  They must be doing something right.

LNG is becoming cost competitive with bunker fuel.  This should help in the transition.

https://splash247.com/lng-bunker-costs-now-competitive/

Looks like some verandas are wider than others e.g., Centre ones and 2nd ones in on the left and right.  Wonder how this can be if cabins are the same size?  Perhaps they’r not?

Got the additional 50$ on 2 cruises we had booked last week after a long wait on the phone with our TA.  Celebrity trying hard to fill their ships.

Great, thanks or the info.  Will do.

Dave

Just curious if you have your onboard account in US or Canadian dollars? I recall a thread years ago where the person recommended staying in US dollars and paying with a credit card that does not charge a currency exchange fee rather than have the cruise line do all the purchase exchanges to Canadian dollars.

Anybody have experience in this and a recommendation?  Thanks.

Dave

O is our favourite cruise line followed by X.  If you want peace and quiet, choose O.  If you want excitement, choose X.  Our favourite ship is the Marina.  Going on Beyond soon so we shall see if things change.  Both lines are superb!

We were actually planning to go to Sanibel Island for 2 weeks after exiting Beyond on Nov 4.  Our friends own a house there and called us to cancel our visit.  Their house is intact but it will take a long time to restore infrastructure.  Now looking at another cruise or may just fly home.  Strangely enough Beyond does not cruise out of Fort Lauderdale until Nov 8.  Is there a 4 day TA promotional event on I wonder?